St. George's Abbey in the Black Forest
Encyclopedia
St. George's Abbey in the Black Forest (Kloster Sankt Georgen im Schwarzwald) was a Benedictine monastery in St. Georgen im Schwarzwald in the southern Black Forest
in Baden-Württemberg
, Germany
.
, against the background of the Investiture Controversy
, as a result of the community of interests of the Swabia
n aristocracy and the church reform party, the founders being Hezelo and Hesso of the family of the Vögte of Reichenau
, and the politically influential Abbot William of Hirsau
. The intended site was initially to be at Königseggwald
in Upper Swabia
, but at William's behest St. Georgen was chosen instead. The settlement, by monks from Hirsau Abbey
, took place in the spring and summer of 1084; the chapel was dedicated on 24 June 1085.
At first a priory of Hirsau, the new foundation was declared an independent abbey in 1086, and under Abbot Theoger (1088–1119) began to accumulate the extensive estates, possessions and legal rights which made it one of the greatest religious houses of south-western Germany. The first Vögte ("lords protector") were the founder Hezelo (d. 1088) and his son Hermann (d. 1094). The abbey then came into conflict with the next Vogt, Ulrich of Hirrlingen
, and was obliged to appeal to King Henry V
. From 1114 the Vögte were the Zähringen
Dukes; on their extinction in 1218, the office was taken over by the Hohenstaufen
Emperor Frederick II
(1212/1215–c. 1250).
To attempt to curb the excessive control of the Vögte over the abbey, the abbots obtained privileges (8 March 1095 and 2 November 1105) from the papacy granting them guarantees of libertas Romana ("Roman freedom"), which included papal protection for the abbey and the right to elect their own abbots freely. Successive abbots throughout the later Middle Ages had these important rights repeatedly confirmed.
A particularly important papal privilege was that of Pope Alexander III
, dated 26 March 1179, which makes clear the significance of St. George's as a centre of Benedictine reform in Alsace
, Lotharingia
, Swabia and Bavaria
in the 12th century by naming numerous religious communities in close contact with St. George's, either as its foundations or because it exercised pastoral authority over them or had been involved in their reform. The nunneries at Amtenhausen (1102) and Friedenweiler (1123) were founded from St. George's and were its priories, as was the monastery at Lixheim in Alsace (1107), the nunnery at Urspring (1127) and the "Cell of St. Nicholas" at Rippoldsau (before 1179). Monks from St. George's were the spiritual directors of the nunneries at Krauftal (1124/30) and Vargéville (about 1126), while Ottobeuren Abbey
(1102), Admont Abbey
(1115), Saints Ulrich and Afra's Abbey in Augsburg
(before 1120) and Prüfening Abbey
(1121) had had abbots or other reforming influences from St. George's. St. George's itself was of course, as a foundation of Hirsau, part of the Hirsau Reform, in its turn inspired by and parallel to the Cluniac Reform. This powerful reforming impetus of the first third of the 12th century, under Abbots Theoger and Werner I (d. 1134), seems however to have stagnated later in the century.
The abbey thereafter began a slow but marked decline, emphasized by a disastrous fire in 1244. In common with many other religious houses of the period, it also experienced a loss of spiritual zeal and discipline, and well as financial losses, dwindling income and mismanagement. The low point was probably the supposed murder of Abbot Heinrich III (1335–1347) by his successor, Abbot Ulrich II (1347, 1359, and 1364–1368). Some improvement took place around the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries with the appointment of the reforming Abbot Johann III Kern (1392–1427).
The increasingly aggressive claims of the "Vögte", who between about 1250 and the early 15th century were the Counts of Falkenstein
, and after them the Dukes of Württemberg
, were difficult for the abbots to counter, given their lack of "reichsunmittelbar" status, and despite the possession of its hard-won papal privileges the abbey steadily diminished in influence, until in 1536 the Dukes of Württemberg, against the background of the Reformation
, dissolved the abbey and expelled the monks.
territory in nearby Austria
. During the Thirty Years' War
an attempt was made between 1629 and 1632 to re-settle St. George's, but it came to nothing, and the premises and the church were destroyed by fire on 13 October 1633. It was not re-built.
The town of St. Georgen im Schwarzwald suffered a serious fire in 1865, and the ruins of the abbey were used as a quarry for its re-building.
Black Forest
The Black Forest is a wooded mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, southwestern Germany. It is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The highest peak is the Feldberg with an elevation of 1,493 metres ....
in Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg is one of the 16 states of Germany. Baden-Württemberg is in the southwestern part of the country to the east of the Upper Rhine, and is the third largest in both area and population of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of and 10.7 million inhabitants...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Foundation to Reformation
The monastery was founded in 1084–85 in the Black Forest, by the source of the BrigachBrigach
The Brigach is the shorter of two streams that jointly form the river Danube in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The Brigach has its source at 925 metres above sea level within St. Georgen in the Black Forest. The Brigach crosses the city Villingen-Schwenningen. After 43 km from the source, Brigach...
, against the background of the Investiture Controversy
Investiture Controversy
The Investiture Controversy or Investiture Contest was the most significant conflict between Church and state in medieval Europe. In the 11th and 12th centuries, a series of Popes challenged the authority of European monarchies over control of appointments, or investitures, of church officials such...
, as a result of the community of interests of the Swabia
Swabia
Swabia is a cultural, historic and linguistic region in southwestern Germany.-Geography:Like many cultural regions of Europe, Swabia's borders are not clearly defined...
n aristocracy and the church reform party, the founders being Hezelo and Hesso of the family of the Vögte of Reichenau
Reichenau Island
Reichenau Island lies in Lake Constance in southern Germany, at approximately . It lies between Gnadensee and Untersee, two parts of Lake Constance, almost due west of the city of Konstanz. The island is connected to the mainland by a causeway that was completed in 1838...
, and the politically influential Abbot William of Hirsau
William of Hirsau
William of Hirsau was a Benedictine abbot and monastic reformer. He was abbot of Hirsau Abbey, for whom he created the Constitutiones Hirsaugienses, based on the uses of Cluny, and was the father of the Hirsau Reforms, which influenced many Benedictine monasteries in Germany...
. The intended site was initially to be at Königseggwald
Königseggwald
Königseggwald is a town in the district of Ravensburg in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
in Upper Swabia
Upper Swabia
Upper Swabia is a region in Germany in the federal states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. The name refers to the area between the Swabian Alb, Lake Constance and the Lech...
, but at William's behest St. Georgen was chosen instead. The settlement, by monks from Hirsau Abbey
Hirsau Abbey
Hirsau Abbey, formerly known as Hirschau Abbey, was once one of the most prominent Benedictine abbeys of Germany. It was located in the town of Hirsau, in the Diocese of Speyer, near Calw in the present Baden-Württemberg.-History:...
, took place in the spring and summer of 1084; the chapel was dedicated on 24 June 1085.
At first a priory of Hirsau, the new foundation was declared an independent abbey in 1086, and under Abbot Theoger (1088–1119) began to accumulate the extensive estates, possessions and legal rights which made it one of the greatest religious houses of south-western Germany. The first Vögte ("lords protector") were the founder Hezelo (d. 1088) and his son Hermann (d. 1094). The abbey then came into conflict with the next Vogt, Ulrich of Hirrlingen
Hirrlingen
Hirlingen is a municipality in the district of Tübingen in Baden-Württemberg in Germany....
, and was obliged to appeal to King Henry V
Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor
Henry V was King of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor , the fourth and last ruler of the Salian dynasty. Henry's reign coincided with the final phase of the great Investiture Controversy, which had pitted pope against emperor...
. From 1114 the Vögte were the Zähringen
Zähringen
Zähringen is the name of an old German family that founded a large number of cities in what are today Switzerland and Baden-Württemberg. While the junior line that first assumed the title Duke of Zähringen, a cadet branch of the House of Baden, became extinct in 1218, the senior line persists and...
Dukes; on their extinction in 1218, the office was taken over by the Hohenstaufen
Hohenstaufen
The House of Hohenstaufen was a dynasty of German kings in the High Middle Ages, lasting from 1138 to 1254. Three of these kings were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor. In 1194 the Hohenstaufens also became Kings of Sicily...
Emperor Frederick II
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick II , was one of the most powerful Holy Roman Emperors of the Middle Ages and head of the House of Hohenstaufen. His political and cultural ambitions, based in Sicily and stretching through Italy to Germany, and even to Jerusalem, were enormous...
(1212/1215–c. 1250).
To attempt to curb the excessive control of the Vögte over the abbey, the abbots obtained privileges (8 March 1095 and 2 November 1105) from the papacy granting them guarantees of libertas Romana ("Roman freedom"), which included papal protection for the abbey and the right to elect their own abbots freely. Successive abbots throughout the later Middle Ages had these important rights repeatedly confirmed.
A particularly important papal privilege was that of Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III
Pope Alexander III , born Rolando of Siena, was Pope from 1159 to 1181. He is noted in history for laying the foundation stone for the Notre Dame de Paris.-Church career:...
, dated 26 March 1179, which makes clear the significance of St. George's as a centre of Benedictine reform in Alsace
Alsace
Alsace is the fifth-smallest of the 27 regions of France in land area , and the smallest in metropolitan France. It is also the seventh-most densely populated region in France and third most densely populated region in metropolitan France, with ca. 220 inhabitants per km²...
, Lotharingia
Lotharingia
Lotharingia was a region in northwest Europe, comprising the Low Countries, the western Rhineland, the lands today on the border between France and Germany, and what is now western Switzerland. It was born of the tripartite division in 855, of the kingdom of Middle Francia, itself formed of the...
, Swabia and Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
in the 12th century by naming numerous religious communities in close contact with St. George's, either as its foundations or because it exercised pastoral authority over them or had been involved in their reform. The nunneries at Amtenhausen (1102) and Friedenweiler (1123) were founded from St. George's and were its priories, as was the monastery at Lixheim in Alsace (1107), the nunnery at Urspring (1127) and the "Cell of St. Nicholas" at Rippoldsau (before 1179). Monks from St. George's were the spiritual directors of the nunneries at Krauftal (1124/30) and Vargéville (about 1126), while Ottobeuren Abbey
Ottobeuren Abbey
Ottobeuren is a Benedictine abbey, located in Ottobeuren, near Memmingen in the Bavarian Allgäu, Germany.-First foundation:It was founded in 764 by Blessed Toto, and dedicated to St. Alexander, the martyr. Of its early history little is known beyond the fact that Toto, its first abbot, died about...
(1102), Admont Abbey
Admont Abbey
Admont Abbey is a foundation of the Benedictines on the River Enns in the town of Admont in Austria and is the oldest remaining monastery in Styria...
(1115), Saints Ulrich and Afra's Abbey in Augsburg
Augsburg
Augsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria, Germany. It is a university town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
(before 1120) and Prüfening Abbey
Prüfening Abbey
Prüfening Abbey was a Benedictine monastery on the outskirts of Regensburg in Bavaria, Germany. Since the beginning of the 19th century it has also been known as Prüfening Castle...
(1121) had had abbots or other reforming influences from St. George's. St. George's itself was of course, as a foundation of Hirsau, part of the Hirsau Reform, in its turn inspired by and parallel to the Cluniac Reform. This powerful reforming impetus of the first third of the 12th century, under Abbots Theoger and Werner I (d. 1134), seems however to have stagnated later in the century.
The abbey thereafter began a slow but marked decline, emphasized by a disastrous fire in 1244. In common with many other religious houses of the period, it also experienced a loss of spiritual zeal and discipline, and well as financial losses, dwindling income and mismanagement. The low point was probably the supposed murder of Abbot Heinrich III (1335–1347) by his successor, Abbot Ulrich II (1347, 1359, and 1364–1368). Some improvement took place around the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries with the appointment of the reforming Abbot Johann III Kern (1392–1427).
The increasingly aggressive claims of the "Vögte", who between about 1250 and the early 15th century were the Counts of Falkenstein
Falkenstein
Falkenstein or Falckenstein is the name of several places and castles in Central Europe as well as a surname:- Places in Germany and Austria :* Falkenstein, Bavaria, district Cham...
, and after them the Dukes of Württemberg
Rulers of Württemberg
This is a list of the rulers of the German state of Württemberg, originally a county and eventually a kingdom until the ruling dynasty was overthrown in 1918.- Counts of Württemberg to 1495 :* Konrad I 1089–1122...
, were difficult for the abbots to counter, given their lack of "reichsunmittelbar" status, and despite the possession of its hard-won papal privileges the abbey steadily diminished in influence, until in 1536 the Dukes of Württemberg, against the background of the Reformation
Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
, dissolved the abbey and expelled the monks.
Post-Reformation
The monks did not disperse at the suppression of St. George's, in which a Protestant religious community was established in 1566, but moved to the vacant monastery at Villingen, in HabsburgHabsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
territory in nearby Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. During the Thirty Years' War
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War was fought primarily in what is now Germany, and at various points involved most countries in Europe. It was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history....
an attempt was made between 1629 and 1632 to re-settle St. George's, but it came to nothing, and the premises and the church were destroyed by fire on 13 October 1633. It was not re-built.
The town of St. Georgen im Schwarzwald suffered a serious fire in 1865, and the ruins of the abbey were used as a quarry for its re-building.
Abbots of St. George's 1084–1536
- Heinrich I (1084/6–1087)
- Konrad (1087–1088)
- Theoger (1088–1119)
- Werner I von Zimmern (1119–1134)
- Friedrich (1st abbacy: 1134–1138 - 1)
- Johann von Falkenstein (1138–1145)
- Friedrich (2nd abbacy: 1145–1154)
- Guntram or Sintram (1154–1168)
- Werner II (1168–1169)
- Manegold von Berg (1st abbacy: 1169–1187)
- Albert (1187–1191)
- Manegold von Berg (2nd abbacy: 1191)
- Dietrich (1191–1209)
- Burchard (1209, 1221)
- Heinrich II (1220–1259)
- Dietmar (1259–1280)
- Berthold (1280, 1306)
- Ulrich I der Deck (1308, 1332)
- Heinrich III Boso von Stein (1335–1347)
- Urich II von Trochtelfingen (1st abbacy: 1347, 1359)
- Johann II from Sulz (1359–1364)
- Ulrich II (2nd abbacy: 1364–1368)
- Eberhard I Kanzler from Rottweil (1368–1382)
- Heinrich IV Gruwel (1382–1391)
- Johann III Kern (1392–1427)
- Silvester Billing from Rottweil (1427, 1433)
- Heinrich V Ungericht from Sulz (1st abbacy: 1435, 1449)
- Johann IV Swigger from Sulz (1st abbacy: 1450, 1451)
- Heinrich V (2nd abbacy: 1452–1457)
- Johann IV (2nd abbacy: 1457–1467)
- Heinrich VI Marschall (1467, 1473)
- Georg von Asch (1474–1505)
- Eberhard II Pletz von Rotenstein (1505–1517)
- Nikolaus Schwander (1517–1530)
- Johann V Kern from Ingoldingen (1530–1536; and until 1566 at Villingen)